THE ACADEMY TRYOUTS

This season we will be holding a number of different tryouts all in the KW area.

Plan to attend as many of these as possible as it will allow us to develop a better sense of your abilities.

Wednesday April 20 - 8-10pm (Woodside Park)

Wednesday April 27- 9-11pm (Rim Turf Field)

Saturday April 30- 4-7pm (Woodside Park)

TUF Tournament May 7-8

NOTE- all the tryouts except TUF will be $20. TUF is not included in the tryout fee due to a team fee that needs to be paid.The fee for that tournament will depend on the number of people who are attending that tryout.

We are aiming to put together an Open team out of the region / system for this year. This team will be working towards building team unity and individual fundamentals with the goal of qualifying for WUCC 2018 (Top 3 in 2017 CUC). We will be looking to attend at least one tournament a month, with the aim of developing fundamentals and team skills. The goal is to build for next year with the hopes of having a strong showing at CUC in 2017. We understand that the program has undergone a substantial amount of change over the past couple of years, and we want to provide everyone with the opportunity to develop into high level ultimate players. In order to achieve this, we will be capping the number of roster spots on Maverick to 24 players to ensure all players receive ample game time to practice skills. We will still be providing other development opportunities to those not selected for the team. As captains, we are committed to building a system that fosters the growth and development of its players. We understand that the location of CUC 2016 is an issue for some. Therefore, the ability to attend CUC will not have an impact on your chances of making Maverick. We will be taking the players that we feel will best help us build for the future and are committed to our goals and vision.

This season we will be holding a number of different tryouts all in the KW area.

Plan to attend as many of these as possible as it will allow us to develop a better sense of your abilities.

Wednesday April 20 - 8-10pm (Woodside Park)

Wednesday April 27- 9-11pm (Rim Turf Field)

Saturday April 30- 4-7pm (Woodside Park)

TUF Tournament May 7-8

NOTE- all the tryouts except TUF will be $20. TUF is not included in the tryout fee due to a team fee that needs to be paid. The fee for that tournament will depend on the number of people who are attending that tryout.

Tryouts will be held on Tuesdays at Woodside Park in Kitchener, starting on April 16th (weather permitting). The last tryout of the pre-season will be the Toronto Ultimate Festival on Sat-Sun March 11-12. Full dates and times are below.

We're also doing things a little differently this year. This tryout is an open call for players interested in joining the new Open club system we're calling The Academy. As part of this club, you'll have a chance to play at tournaments across North America against the best players in the world. We'll be drawing two teams from The Academy, including Maverick and one other team to be named shortly.

The great thing about this new system is that there will be a role and playing time for players of all levels of experience, from savvy vets to relatively new players. Also, the most importing thing we're asking of people is that they commit 100% to practices, and work hard. We will not be turning away players simply because they can't make a tournament or two.

If you have questions, or if you know of anyone else who would be interested in trying out, please email: captains.maverickultimate.com.

See you out there!

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Summary of Tryout Dates (all dates are weather permitting, so be prepared for last minute changes):

Woodside Park

This season, Maverick Ultimate is excited to introduce The Academy, a new club system that will support player development and competitive Open Ultimate in the region.

We want to create an inclusive environment where ultimate players have the opportunities they need to be successful. We plan on doing that by creating a new opportunity for the best prospects and talent in the region and have them practice and play alongside each other. This will fast track player development and create a competitive and skilled ultimate environment.

The Academy is planning on entering as many tournaments as possible this summer. Rosters for these tournaments will be fluid, allowing for players to earn their playing time and competitive roster spots based on skill, commitment and intensity. Some tournaments will be designated as ‘Key’ tournaments, with spots on the ‘A’ team being reserved for players committed to the Canadian Ultimate Championships (CUC) being held in Vancouver, BC. The rosters for other tournaments will be drawn up to maximize the competition, growth, development, and overall awesomeness of The Academy. For some of these tournaments, we will send split squads (with rosters of equal skill level). For others, we will send an A and a B team, but spots on the A squad won’t be limited to CUC players.In addition to team-level changes, The Academy will be improving their leadership structure. While the captains (Brendan Wylie-Toal and Andrew Higgins) will remain the primary leaders of the club, various leadership roles will be assigned to members of the club. This will create new leadership opportunities for the players that are interested in them, and will allow the captains to remain focused on the team’s goals. These roles will cover a wide range, from stats and finances to fitness and strategy.

We want to hear from you! To sign up for more information, or to ask a question, click here.

FAQ

Q. I can’t attend nationals this summer. Can I still try out for The Academy?A. Yes you can! The only limiting factor is that you won’t be asked to play for the ‘A’ team during a key tournament such as Regionals or No Borders.

Q. I can’t attend Tournament ‘X’ this summer. Will that be a factor?A. The Academy is planning a very extensive tournament list. You will not be required or expected to attend every tournament throughout the summer. We have designated some tournaments as ‘key tournaments’, where the A team will try and place as high as possible. All A team players will be expected to attend these tournaments. Talk to us if there is a conflict that might impede this beforehand and we can certainly come to a resolution.

Q. Which tournaments will The Academy attend in 2013?A. We have drawn up a tentative tournament list but many tournaments are still finalizing dates. Sign up here to receive updates from us as we get closer to the season.

Maverick, a well-known open ultimate team out of the Kitchener/Waterloo region is pleased to announce the restructuring of its touring program. Beginning in the spring of 2013, Maverick will not only be maintaining its top-tiered touring team, but will also be forming a feeder team to help grow ultimate in the region. These two teams will be working together at practices and tournaments to help develop players to their full potential.

The goal of restructuring the team is to help develop players who have a strong interest in learning the skills and strategy to allow them to compete at the top level. By having experienced Maverick players working closely with this feeder team, these players will be exposed to years of knowledge and experience that will allow them to develop as quickly as possible.

"This is the best way for players to develop. If they want to grow, improve, and really see results, Maverick is the best option in the region" says captain Brendan Wylie-Toal.

If you have any questions please reach out to the team on Facebook, Twitter (@MaverickUlti), or email bwylietoal@maverickultimate.com

For Maverick’s 2012 roster, June 2nd and 3rd marked the first official two-day tournament of the season. Just outside of Syracuse, Cazenovia Ultimate Tournament’s 8th annual occurrence brought out some great teams with power pools including some of the best teams in the world. Maverick went in seeded 8th out of 16 teams, being placed in a pool along with Boston’s Ironside and two other Canadian teams: Phoenix and Mephisto.

Day one’s first game was against Montreal’s Mephisto. Having only played Mephisto once in 2011, we were very excited for an early season opportunity to prove ourselves against one of the top teams in Canada. Maverick came out hard against Mephisto’s strong defense and took half with a small lead. Once we gathered ourselves and realigned our strategy, we were able to come out with power and a great end zone offense allowing us to take the game with a 13-7 win. This was a huge win for the team as Maverick has never before won a match-up against Mephisto. Key players include Chris Taylor with huge defensive plays and a sick high-flying layout for a break and Matt Penman pulling down countless discs for the o line.

After a strong win against Mephisto, our second match-up found us facing one of the top 3 teams in the world, Boston’s Ironside. Ironside, still in tryout mode, has a very large team with many of their players well over 6 feet tall. We went into the game knowing that we were outmatched so early in the season but came out strong regardless. The O line handlers were as steady as ever in this game: Craig Hyatt did a great job distributing the disc across the field, while Rhyin Newell and Aaron Kucherawy both had numerous break throws for yards. Unfortunately, Ironside's defense proved irrepressible, and Maverick struggled to finish in the end zone. Maverick managed to hold Ironside at bay early on, but the game got away and we fell 13-4.

A highly anticipated game against Ottawa’s Phoenix was our final pool play game of the day. After facing Phoenix numerous times the previous year, but only coming out on top on one occasion, Maverick went into the game with enormous energy. Phoenix’s 2012 roster has been recharged with some key players returning from last year’s mixed team, Trainwreck. Phoenix, known for their gritty defense, encountered issues at the beginning of the game trying to slow down our offense. Maverick also managed to hold their own with some fantastic turns on defense, notably by Thomas Black. Phoenix broke first and took the lead at half. Maverick was unable to recover and lost the game 13-9. An interesting encounter between Phoenix’s Neal Dawson and Maverick’s Thomas Black lead to a heated argument and a grueling match-up between the two monsters. Overall, Maverick’s defense played fantastic and with great energy.

The final game of Saturday was a pre-quarter crossover against a young Zebra Muscles squad. The team pulls players from across upstate New York including Syracuse and Rochester. The Zebras found a hard match-up against Maverick’s intense defense, anchored by the suffocating defensive style of Russ Nicolls and Brendan Wylie-Toal. Despite resilient, fighting offense, Zebra Muscles found it hard to hold off Maverick’s D-lines from breaking them. Coupled with a perfectly executed offense, including huge flick bombs from Trevor Henry to Matt Penman, Maverick was able to take the game 15-10.

A local business, Critz Farms, hosted a tournament social following Saturday’s games. The farm, specializing in apples, has a cidery on-site. They offered free snacks, a great patio and green-space, and fantastic staff that made the experience unforgettable. Not only did they sell bottles of unique and delicious cider, but they offered a cider tasting where one of their family experts walked each person through a complete tasting of all the ciders they offer. After all the other teams left, Maverick was the only one who remained. The hospitable family who owned the farm spent some time relaxing in the sun with our team, ensuring that we had everything we wanted. If you are ever in the area, we highly recommend going.

Sunday morning quarter finals had us with a match-up against the strong team from New York, PoNY. Still finishing their tryouts, PoNY brought lots of sideline energy that made it hard to beat their defense. Maverick’s Matt Penman continued to have some enormous end zone strikes. That, along with some big plays by Bryan Cunningham, found PoNY surprised with the strength of the Canadian team, Maverick. Our o-line did a great job of moving the disc through PoNY’s zone on a windy day but it wasn’t enough. PoNY got a couple of breaks right at the end of the half to go up 8-4. They continued to play strongly in the second half and took the game with a final score of 15-9.

Maverick’s second game on Sunday was against the team Super Seed, formerly known as Dire Wolf. This team, coming from Pittsburgh, was loud and vulgar throughout the length of the game. Maverick, not used to playing teams of this nature, went down one break early on. Thanks to some fantastic defense, including a newly dubbed “scorpion footblock” by Jeff McConomy, Maverick was able to battle back and regain a lead. A stable O-line allowed for both of our D-lines to take a couple of breaks taking the lead 13-11. Key plays include Dan Berringer with a huge D on a floaty huck, then a layout up-line grab over two defenders and then flipping it into the endzone for a goal; a ridiculous layout D by Trevor Henry which resulted in 10 minutes of the dreaded “zombie knee;” and a dirty break from the youngest Maverick, Ben Pries, to Carson Turner who bombed a perfect flick to the end zone for the goal. Although disappointed with the other team’s attitude, this was an excellent game to win.

Our final game for the tournament was another matchup against Phoenix. While both teams were tired, it was clear that everyone was excited to challenge for 5th. Maverick struggled to refocus with some adjustments to the O line, and we went down quickly, trailing 5-1. However, after a strong timeout speech by captain Matt Snow, our D-lines became monstrous. The hard work ethic and desire for the disc on the D-line allowed breaks to be piled up. Pete McLachlan, Matt Hofing, and Bacon Sandwich shut down the Phoenix handlers. Then, on the turn, they moved the disc incredibly well, throwing it out onto the break side for big gainers despite strong winds. The man with the grenade tattoo, Stewart Russell, had some monstrous displays in the air and was able to rip a huge huck to Jeff McConomy who boxed out his defender for a break. Despite a fantastic recovery, Maverick was unable to regain the lead and lost 15-12. Key plays include a huge “mac-n-catch” layout by Mark Deren; Sergio with some stifling defense, huge layouts, and downright dominant lane cutting; and an enormous layout grab by Andrew Higgins.